1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an art object adjustable mounting assembly and, more particularly, to a mounting assembly for stabilizing and leveling large art objects such as posters, pictures, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of art objects are supported for display on a wall or other vertical surface. Conventional mounting assemblies include nails and other similarly functioning members from which the art objects are suspended.
Many art objects are quite large, such as posters, prints, scrolls, charts, tapestries, and the like, presenting special problems in the mounting thereof. That is, large art objects are highly susceptible to motion in the presence of room vibrations, air currents, and the like, making it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain such art objects level. Commonly, when entering a room having one or more art objects mounted on the walls thereof, one or more of such art objects are askew, detracting from the appearance thereof.
A poster is especially susceptible to this problem. In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,940, issued July 13, 1971, there is disclosed a supporting frame for posters, charts, bulletins, and the like wherein two opposite edges of the poster are releasably clamped to frame members and a spring member is wedged between the frame members to force the frame members apart. As a result, the edges of the poster are supported and the poster is suspended under tension between the frame members. However, even with the frame so supported, the poster is mounted from a single point, making the poster highly unstable in use.
The only practical solution to this problem is to utilize two separate mounting means for supporting an art object at two horizontally spaced points which are far enough apart to provide stability, yet close enough together to fit within the dimensions of the art object. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to drive nails or other conventional mounting assemblies into a wall so that when the art object is hung, the horizontal sides will be exactly level.
Various means have been proposed for overcoming this latter problem. One such means is the picture hanger assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,525, issued July 11, 1967, to Louis Weinstein. Weinstein discloses a picture hanger assembly comprised of a flat, disc-shaped member having a centrally located aperture and a continuous spiral-shaped slot winding about the central aperture. A nail is inserted through the central aperture and one end of a member hooked at both ends is hung in the spiral-shaped slot. The other hooked end is available to receive the wire or loop normally provided at the back of a picture. By rotating the flat member about the nail inserted through the central opening, an arcuate portion of varying distance from the central opening may be positioned immediately below the central opening so as to raise or lower a picture suspended from the assembly. By using two of such picture hanger assemblies, a picture may be leveled.
A number of problems still exist with devices of the type disclosed by Weinstein. That is, the device of Weinstein still requires a wire or loop connected to the back of a picture, and such is not always practical or feasible, such as in the case of a poster. Secondly, when mounting an art object with the device of Weinstein, the art object is always suspended below the picture hanger assembly, which would make the assembly visible when mounting a picture from the top edge thereof. Obviously, having the assembly visible would detract from the appearance of the displayed art object.